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AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE-BOOK TO 
THE CAVERNS, 



EXPLAINING 



THE MANNER OF THEIR FORMATION, 
THEIR PECULIAR GROWTHS, 

THEIR GEOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, &c. 



BY 

S. Z. Ammen, A. M. 



.-^5.> 



FIFTH EDITION. 

''<"'.• .... 

PHILADELPHIA: 
Allen, Lane & Scott's Printing House, 

Nos. 229 and 231 South Fifth Street. 
1886. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by 

THE LURAY CAVE AND HOTEL COMPANY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



P. 

M.I* J, Griffin 



5 Je '02 



THE CAVERNS OF LURAY. 



All are but parts of one stupendous whole." — Pope. 



ITS HISTORY AND SURROUNDINGS. 

THE Great Valley of Virginia lies between two elevated 
ranges — the Blue Ridge on the south-east rising to heights 
of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet above tide-level, and the North 
Mountain range on the north-west almost equally high. It is 
not a continuous plain like some of the Western prairies. On 
the contrary it is of varied surface, a land of hill and dale, well- 
watered, fertile, and abounding in every variety of mineral and 
agricultural wealth. Nor is it a single valley throughout. From 
a few miles south-west of Winchester to a point nearly opposite 
Harrisonburg it is divided into two subordinate valleys by the 
Massanutton Mountain — a long belt of ridges of silurian and 
devonian rocks which withstood the denuding agencies that 
cleared away on either side so many hundreds of square miles 
of strata. 

Both valleys are proverbial for their beauty and famous for 
important historical events, of which each has been the scene, 
but our present concern is with the eastern and narrower one, 
the Luray valley. This constitutes Page count}', of which Luray 
is the county seat. For the lover of the beautiful in nature it is 
endowed with innumerable charms. Hemmed in on even- side 
with a rim of blue mountains, it is traversed in its western part 
by the South Branch of the Shenandoah, a beautiful river known 
in many a story of battle and guerilla adventure during the civil 
war. It was upon its banks at Front Royal, near its junction 
with the North Branch, that the first battle of Jackson's cele- 



brated Valley campaign was fought. The Hawksbill, a winding 
and picturesque stream, flows through the centre of the valley, 
alternating along its upper course with wild mountain cascades 
and bits of bosky dell, until at length, after watering miles of 
fertile meadow, it passes beneath the rustic bridge at Luray and 
loses itself in the Shenandoah. 

Nor is the village of Luray unknown to fame. It was through 
its streets that Stonewall Jackson passed in making his flank 

movement upon Banks at Stras- 
burg in the spring of 1862. By 
this way, too, marched General 
Shields a little later, to intercept 
the wily Confeder- 
ate in his retreat be- 
fore Fremont. Af- 
ter the affair at Port 
Republic, Luray lay 
in the line of the 
Federal creneral's 














' -=»- 7=TV.-«iJ» 



retreat. 
Again, in 
July, 1 863, 
Lee's ar- 
my return- 
ing from 
Gettys- 
burg to 
Eastern 
Virginia, 
and find- 
ing the 
lower pas- 
ses ot the Blue Ridge 
held by Meade's 
troops, came this far 
up the valley to gain Thornton's Gap, and crossing here, once 
more confronted its old adversary. Then, as now, the village 
was famous for its pretty girls and abundant rations, to both ot 
which soldiers are ever devoted, and it became in consequence 



ON THE MAIN STREET. 



5 



the scene of many exploits of the partisan soldiery of Harry 
Gilmore, White, McNeil, and Mosby — gay fellows who knowing 
well the charms of the place were loth to yield possession. 

About a mile west of Luray on the Newmarket pike, is a con- 
ical hill known as Cave Hill from the existence of a cave near 
its summit. Along its sides and about its base are standing 
ponds, and sink-holes, marked with a growth of briar and weeds, 
known to va- 
grant boys as 
the favorite 
haunts of rab- 
bits. Their 
more import- 
ant signifi- 
cance was not 
understood, 
however, un- 
til there ap- 
peared in the 
county a pho- 
t o g rapher, 
Mr.B.P.Steb- 
bins, of East- 
on, Md., who 
induced sev- 
eral of the vil- 
lagers to join 
him in the 
search for a 
cave which, 
from surface andrew j. campbell.* 

indications, he felt sure must exist in the neighborhood. His 
companions in this memorable cave hunt were Messrs. A. J. and 
William B. Campbell. Together they went prospecting about 
the country, digging here and there at promising localities but 
without success, until, being nick-named " cave-hunters," they 
became the objects of good-natured ridicule from their fellow 




* The first person to enter the Cave. He and his nephew, William B. Campbell, still attend 
the visitor at the Caverns. 



townsmen who charged them with mistaking rabbits' hiding 
places for mares' nests, and jumping rabbits for sprightly young 
colts. 

At length on the 13th of August, 1878, a depression on the 
hillside was examined, which proved to be the entrance to the 
long-sought cave. It was about forty feet in diameter by ten in 
depth, filled with loose- stones and brush, and grown up with 
weeds. Removing these obstructions with considerable labor, 
they found an opening from which a current of air was escaping. 
The opening was further widened and Mr. A. J. Campbell was 
lowered by means of a rope, and reaching bottom with candle 
in hand, peered about him in the darkness. He found himself 
in a narrow rift about fifteen feet long by five wide, with no ap- 
parent outlet. Closer examination disclosed a hole through 
which with some difficulty he passed into a large open space 
now known as Entrance Hall — and became the discoverer of the 
cave. Having abandoned the rope which connected him with 
his companions, he surveyed for some time with rapt interest 
the strange scene presented to his eyes, until — the rest of the 
party becoming alarmed at his absence — his nephew William B. 
Campbell came in search of him. Together they returned to 
the upper world, and the exploration ceased for the time. The 
importance of their discovery was appreciated, and at night the 
party returned with candles and explored Stebbins' avenue, En- 
trance Hall, and Entrance avenue as far as Muddy lake, since 
drained and replaced by a dry, cement walk. The Lake — then 
a considerable body of water — stopped them, and of the largest 
and grandest part of the cave they remained in ignorance, until, 
on a venture, they had purchased the land under which it lay. 

Since its opening, the cave has been visited by many thou- 
sands* of persons representing all parts of the world, many of 
them scientists and foreign tourists acquainted with the caves of 
this and other countries. The general verdict is that the Luray 
Cave excels all others in the combined extent, variety, scientific 
interest, and beauty of its calcite formations. The Mammoth 
and Wyandotte caves are indeed larger, but their walls are al- 
most bare. Weyer's is admittedly inferior in the freshness, va- 

* As many as 14,365 persons have visited the caverns in a twelvemonth. The records show 
that 146S visitors entered the Caverns in one day. 



in the hand. Darkness, however, is such a charm of the place 
that we hardly sympathize with the old lady (perhaps a Mrs. 
Partington) who after visiting the caverns at night declared her 
intention to go the next time during daylight, so as to see 
better. 

Guides — among them Mr. A. J. Campbell, the first person 
to enter the cave— are in waiting to attend the visitor, and 
during regular hours no charge is made for either lights or 
guides. Carriages await the arrival of every train to carry 
intending explorers to the cave which is distant about one 
mile from the station.* No change of dress is needed, as some 




Ll'RAY INN. 



suppose, on entering the realm of Stalacta. There is little or 
no dripping water where the visitor will care to go, and the 
walks, as said before, are made dry and safe by artificial means. 
It is not necessary to imitate either the lady who took a trunk 
to the cave house with changes of attire, or the other who made 
the tour of the caverns in an elaborate velvet dress and train. 
Plain clothing and stout shoes alone are needed. Ladies should 
wear overshoes, but sticks, canes, &c, are needless and wraps 

* Round-trip tickets, good for the ride to the Cave in the cave hacks, are sold at the station. 
All railroads sell tickets with coupons attached allowing the traveler to stop over at Luray 
one day. 



IO 

are superfluous in an atmosphere never lower than fifty-four 
degrees nor more than fifty-eight degrees summer or winter. 

It may not be amiss to add that the laws of Virginia impose 
a fine of from five to five hundred dollars for defacing or de- 
spoiling private property, and the guides have positive orders 'o 
arrest every person known to have broken off or carried away 
specimens. The law has occasionally been violated and fines 
have been imposed by the local magistracy, who feel a strong 
interest in keeping the cave formatfons intact. 

The Luray Inn, built by the L'uray Cave and Hotel Company 
in Queen Anne style, is near the railroad station, and serves 
either as a temporary stoppifig place for hurried visitors to the 
cave, or as a resort for persons wishing a healthy and romantic 
spot in which to spend the summer. The Inn has fifty-four 
sleeping rooms, all provided with gas and electric bells. Hot 
and cold water baths and other comforts or necessaries are lib- 
erally supplied. There is a tower crowning the Inn from which 
may be obtained a fine view of the glorious .scenery of the 
Hawksbill valley. One sun-set scene from this point is worth a 
trip across the Atlantic. That this is the case 'may be inferred 
from a letter written by a gentleman spending his summer here. 
In reply to a question as to his resources for enjoyment, he thus 
expressed himself: 

"To lie on a grassy hillside and watch the sun setting behind the Mas- 
sanutton ; to see the thousand purplish tints that sleep within its winding 
valleys and glens, while the heavens above are glowing with splendors of 
pink, and red, and gold, amber, faintish-blue and green ; to hear the cries 
and calls of eventide, the shouts of the workmen coming home, and the 
multitudinous noises of the farm house at the close of the day, — these are 
no small pleasures. There are cherry-trees to climb, berries to gather, ferns 
to collect, a cave to explore, fish to catch, and long walks to take in the 
deep forest, or by the riverside, or down some rustic, vine-bordered lane. 
To sit on the farm-house porch and see the corn growing, and listen to the 
busy threshing machines buzzing fitfully far away across the hot fields 
throughout the idle, dreamy day — unhappy the man that cannot find a cer- 
tain charm in these things. They awake a dim echo in our souls of the 
rustic lives of our ancestors. We find in them the pabulum of our highest 
emotions, inspiration for better living, and nobler thinking. City life tires, 
deadens, exhausts. We become one-sided, evil, set in bad habits, which 
the necessities of country life effectually break up. We return to town in 
the autumn with increased physical, mental, and moral strength to renew 
and accomplish the tasks of life." 



1 1 

Luray is a good central point from which the historiographer 
may visit the numerous battlefields of the Valley and Piedmont 
region of Virginia. Within a few miles are Kernstown, Front 
Royal, Winchester, Strasburg, New Market, Cedar Creek, Cross 
Keys, and Port Republic. Charlestown, the scene of John 
Brown's trial and execution, is in easy reach. There are sev- 
eral interesting mounds, built perhaps by the famous mound- 







GOING TO THE CAVERNS. 



builders, within two or three miles of Luray. For several years 
representatives of the Smithsonian Institution have been en- 
gaged in examining them. 

Luray is within easy reach of Raleigh, Capon and Jordan 
White Sulphur Springs, and is on the direct line from northern 
cities to the famous Greenbrier White Sulphur, Old Sweet, Red 
Sweet, Warm Springs, and other prominent Virginia watering- 
places, and the wonderful Natural Bridge of Virginia. 



12 

A CHAPTER OF EXPLANATION. 

Scopulis pendentibus antrum : 
Intus aquae dulces, vivoque sedilia saxo. 

Geologically, the limestone (dolomite) in which the cave is 
found, is to be assigned to the " Canadian " or Middle Period of 
the Lower Silurian, and to the " Quebec," the Middle Epoch of 
that period — to No. II., b., of Rogers' series. 

The stratum* of argillaceous limestone constituting Cave 
Hill may be considered identical with that in which occurs the 
famous Natural Bridge of Rockbridge county, near Natural 
Bridge Station, Shenandoah Valley R. R., further up the valley. 
Such is the opinion of Prof. John Campbell, of Washington and 
Lee University, who has made a minute study of this region, and 
is recognized as the highest living authority upon the geology of 
the Valley of Virginia. 

Large caves are found only in limestone regions. Those who 
give the subject special study agree that a cave is but an under- 
ground valley — a ravine roofed with stone — a repetition on a 
small scale and under a stony sky, of the main features of lime- 
stone scenery above ground. This view is well sustained by the 
structure of the Luray Cave. It is a system of large ravines, of 
which (i.) Entrance and Stonewall Avenue, (2.) Pluto's Chasm, 
and (3.) Giants' Hall and its dependencies, are the dominating 
lines. It is one thing, however, to have subterranean ravines, 
and quite another to have them richly decorated with beautiful 
formations. The former are common the world over ; the latter 
are rare by reason of the many conditions to be fulfilled. The 
hill in which the cave is situated is the highest in the vicinity, 
and the cave is near its summit. The strata are horizontal, com- 
pact, homogeneous, and almost water-tight. Had the Cave Hill 
been subject to the rain torrents flowing from higher hills and 
had its strata been inclined, water would have flowed through 
any chance opening too fast to have produced effects other than 
those due to mere erosion. As it is, the water which enters the 
cave seems to exude from the very stone itself, as if it had under 
pressure traversed the whole thickness of limestone overhead. 

* Prof. Campbell considers this stratum much older than the Trenton strata, a well-marked 
epoch intervening. 



13 

Caves result from the chemical fact that the carbonates of lime 
and magnesia are soluble in water containing carbonic acid. This 
acid abounds in atmospheric air and is one of the products of 
the decomposition of animal and vegetable matters, so that rain 
water which has percolated through the soil has usually been 
enriched with it from both sources. With carbonic acid, then, as 
the active agent and water as the carrier, we are able to account 
for the disappearance of strata, however thick, and whether above 
or below ground. Above ground, the result is a lowering of the 
general level, the deposition of a residual stratum of clay (a con- 
stituent in a finely divided condition, of the valley limestone), and 
the formation of valleys where special causes have favored the 
disintegration of the stone. " Hard " water flows away,' and a 
clay soil is left behind. Below ground, on the other hand, the 
result is a cave — if there be a fissure in the strata through which 
the acidified water may make its descent. In the course of time 
this fissure is worn larger, and the entering water dissolves and 
bears away with it bit by bit the stratum through which it passes, 
flowing out at some lower level with its burden of lime and mag- 
nesia, but leaving the clay behind to plague the adventurous cave- 
hunter. A cave therefore is a fissure widened by the combined 
action of carbonic acid and water. 

So much for the solution and removal of strata. It remains 
to account for the new formations, which, under the names stal- 
actite, stalagmite, drapery, &c, are peculiar to cave scenery. 
Some caves have them ; some have not. They demand certain 
conditions of comparative dryness and ventilation which are sel- 
dom realized. The chemist knows that water holding lime in 
solution by virtue of the carbonic acid it contains, will deposit 
the lime when the acid escapes. It is obvious, moreover, that 
when water containing dissolved lime and magnesia is evapo- 
rated by a passing current of air, the solid matter will be left 
behind, and crystals small or large be formed, according as the 
evaporation is rapid or slow. The formation of a limestone 
coating at the bottom of a kettle in which " hard water " has 
been boiled is an analogous phenomenon. 

Formations. — Cave formations when new, are white from the 
predominance in their composition of lime and magnesia. In the 
course of time, however, much of the soluble matter of their sur- 



14 



face is removed by the ever-present carbonic acid and moisture 
gathered from the cave atmosphere, and the residual clay and 
iron oxide accumulating on their exterior give it a darker color. 
The formations at Luray are to be referred to the following 
types : 

i. Stalactite. — It begins from a drop suspended from the ceil- 
ing. The carbonic acid escaping and the water evaporating, the 
drop becomes more concentrated at the surface than at the 

pendent centre, and deposits the solid 
matter it contains as a ring of tiny 
crystals. This ring now becomes the 
support of the drop, and the process 
continues until a tube of the diameter 
of the drop and from one to thirty- 
six inches in length is formed. Before 
reaching this length, however, it begins 
commonly to fill up, and the water now 
trickling exteriorly deposits its solid 
matter and enlarges it. Stone cloth, 
"curtains," "swords," "draperies," &c, 
are its varieties. Hanging from the un- 
der surface of a jutting ledge, a stalactite 
receives its supply of stone-forming wa- 
ter on one side only and grows only on 
that side. Thus from being a round 
body it becomes a fiat one. Extending 
horizontally as it broadens, it must 
chance to intersect the line of growth 
of similar adjacent formations, and 
where they meet there is a blending of 
substance and the semblance of a fold. 




STALACTITES AND HELICTITES. 



Stripes of various tints of red result from 
varying proportions of carbonate of iron in the water which 
trickles down the growing edge. The stalactite assumes a thou- 
sand forms, and one of the chief pleasures of the visitor is to 
study and account for its wonderful vagaries. 

2. Stalagmite. — Meanwhile a growth has been taking place 
below from the drops which have fallen upon the floor and there 
evaporated. The result is a solid column much larger than its 



«5 



corresponding 
stalactite. Sta- 
lactite and sta- 
lagmite often 
meet in mid-air 
to form a pillar 
extending from 
floor to ceiling. 
3. H die tit e. — 
The Luray Cave 
produces a new 
and peculiar for- 
mation, neither 
stalactite nor 
stalagmite, for 
which is pro- 
posed the name 
helictite (Greek 
helisso, to bend or 
twist), to indicate 
the contorted or 
broken line of 
growth which it 
affects. The he- 
lictite abandons 
the vertical line. 
It prefers to ex- 
tend horizontal- 
ly from one to 
three inches, 
until it can be 
free to move in 
any direction. 
It then often 
grows upward, 
seldom down- 
ward. 

This eccentric 
formation is due 
toaslowcrystal- 




THE CONICAL SHOT. 

A Combined Helictite, Stalagmite, and Stalactite. 



i6 

lization taking place on a surface barely moist, from material con- 
veyed to the point of growth by a capillary movement. The 
polar forces concerned in crystallization by a happy chance con- 
tinually getting the better of gravitation, it departs from the ver- 
tical line to which cave growths are usually restricted. 

4. Calcitc Crystals are deposited in still water. They are 
abundant in the cave, forming the sides and bottom of its nu- 
merous " springs " and lakes, but should be distinguished from 
others found protruding from the blue limestone of the ceiling, 
the latter having been formed therein long before the period of 
the cave. 

5. Cave Pearls are formed about pebbly nuclei in water agi- 
tated by falling drops. Botryoids result when adjacent masses 
of stone are besprinkled with fine spray. These grape-like 
bodies are fixed, and when old resemble " vegetable growths ," but 
are smaller and have a different origin. The latter are found on 
old stalagmites disintegrating in a moist atmosphere. Cascades 
lie between stalactites and stalagmites, being formed when water 
trickles over an inclined plane of broad surface. No gypsum 
formations occur in the Luray Cave. 

Age. — It is impossible to estimate correctly the age of the 
cave, or of its formations. The cave is of course more recent 
than the hill in which it is formed — is later than the adjacent 
valleys and streams into which it drains. The rate of growth 
of cave formations varies with a score of circumstances, so that 
no generally applicable rule can be deduced. An unexpert esti- 
mate was as follows : On an excursion a lady inconsiderately 
broke off a pipe stem. The guide expostulated with her and 
explained how wrong it was to thus destroy the work of ages 
in a thoughtless moment. The repentant fair one exclaimed, 
" What a pity ! I thought they grew over night." The writer, 
however, has seen a tumbler which, after standing five years 
under the drip of a stalactite, was incrusted to a depth of only 
one-eighth of an inch. At this rate of growth, supposing all 
the conditions to be exceptionally favorable, a column one foot 
in diameter might be formed in two hundred and forty years. 
Under ordinary circumstances, however, it would perhaps re- 
quire several thousands, some reckoners say tens of thousands, 
of years. Others go further. Dr. Porter, of Lafayette College, 



17 

a distinguished scientist, in a recent lecture, quotes an eminent 
brother scientist as saying, concerning the Fallen Column, a gi- 
gantic formation weighing one hundred and seventy tons, that 
" four thousand years must have passed since its fall, and seven 
millions of years were consumed in its formation." This calcu- 
lation is based upon the probable time which, in his opinion, it 
took to grow the vertical stalactites which have formed upon it 
as it lies. Prof. Collins, of New York City (of the " Jeannette " 
Polar Expedition), who visited the cave and looked at this col- 
umn, declared all his preconceived ideas of time stranded. " I 
am not familiar," said he, " with the hypothesis upon which the 
calculations are based, but when the savans assert that it re- 
quired seven millions of years to give this fallen column its 
present diameter, I feel like ' putting off my shoes ' and standing 
on this sloppy stone, for it certainly must be ' holy ground. ' 



THE DESCENT. 

" In Xanadu did Kubla Khan 
A stately pleasure-dome decree, 
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 
Through caverns', measureless to man, 
Down to a sunless sea." 

A house has been built over the entrance for the convenience 
of visitors.* Within the cave are plank and cement walks, 
bridges, stairways, railings, &c, in all those parts at present open 
to the general visitor, so that no special preparation is needed 
except such as is suggested by the mention of the fact that the 
temperature of the cave atmosphere ranges from fifty-four to 
fifty-eight degrees. The thirteen electric lights suspended at 
important points relieve the visitor of the trouble of being his 
own torch-bearer. Still, if desired, the guide provides each per- 
•son with a reflector armed with several candles. 

At the word " Ready!" we take our places in single file, and 
following the guide observe in descending the stairway, that the 
thickness of the horizontal stratum of blue limestone constituting 
the roof of the cave is about thirty-five feet. A door is opened 

* To enter the cave, the visitor descends a stairway within the house, precisely as if he 
were going down into a cellar. The Map shows his subsequent course. 



i8 

and we are met by an outward draft of cool, fresh air. Advanc- 
ing further, we find ourselves in Entrance Hall, the vestibule of 
the realms of Stalacta. Our first emotion at the abrupt change 
from the freedom of outside nature is one of mute wonder, until 
the mind accustoms itself to the monstrous shapes, the silence, 
and the weird influence of this subterranean world. 

Our feeling is that we have entered a new state of being. 
Queer shapes present themselves at every turn, aping grotesquely 
the things of our past experience. Every object suggests some 
growth of animal or vegetable life, yet every resemblance proves 
illusive. Before us are glittering stalactites and fluted columns 
strong enough to bear a world ; draperies in broad folds and a 
thousand tints ; cascades of snow-white stone ; and, beyond, a 
background of pitchy darkness in which the imagination locates 
more than the eye can see. The mind " dodges with belief." 
Fancy is dazed by the incomprehensible stimulus it receives from" 
a multitude of novel forms. Around us is a silence that speaks. 
To what does it testify — the infinite inventiveness of chance ? 
Not so. We see the mechanic spirits of this underworld, gnomes 
and imps, who dart from shadow to shadow, behind column and 
angle, to watch that we do no harm to their marvelous handi- 
work. Awe and reverence possess us. We are in a place, 
where, all for all, nothing has its fellow in the world above, and 
where everything is sacred and inviolable. 

The different impressions made on two visitors are worthy to 
be recorded, and are related by one who entered the Caverns 
with Colonel Boteler, of West Virginia, on a recent occasion. 
This gifted gentleman was lost in wonder and awe. Clasping 
his hands in a reverential way, he exclaimed, " God must have 
made this." A few days after the same person was present with 
an Irish contractor in charge of a section of the road. The lat- 
ter was struck dumb and bewildered by what he saw, and when 
asked for his impressions, burst out, " Be jabers, sur, this bates 
the Black Crook all hollow, jist." 

Let us examine objects more closely under the glow of the 
overhanging electric light. First to attract attention is Wash- 
ington's Column, a fluted, massive stalagmite about twenty feet 
in diameter by thirty in height, reaching from floor to ceiling. 
Stalactites depend on every side. From the centre of the roof 



3i 



geous furniture of the cave is 
always undergoing change 
and repair. The. Fallen Col- 
umn also affords facilities 
for examining a fungus [mucor 
stalactitis) said to be peculiar to 
the Luray Cave. In its most 
common form it consists of a slen- 
der stem about one-eighth of an 
inch in length, bedecked at its pro- 
jecting extremity with a bright 
globule of water, and having from 
one to three other such globules 
distributed along its length. Under 
the microscope each globule is 
seen to have for its nucleus a tiny 
bulb containing its spores. Slen- 
der filaments trail about the bulbs 
and hang in graceful curves to the 
ground. It is a beautiful object 
when seen fresh from its habitat. 

Passing beneath the Fallen Col- 
umn and beyond the snow-white 
Angel's Wing, we approach the 
Organ, and rapping its pipes with 
a pencil find that they give out a 
number of musical tones. Further 
on, over a slight elevation, we enter 
the Throne Room. The Throne 
is a niche in the wall on the right. 
Here, too, is Chapman's Lake, so 
named from an enthusias- 
tic visitor who advancing. 



««, ^ .";*•;» , • .♦.• 



k «,••' If* 







MUCOR stalactitis. (Magnified.', 



32 

head up, candle elevated, examining the ceiling, suddenly 
plunged waist deep into this pool of icy water, extinguishing 
at once both candle and enthusiasm. From this point has been 
opened the way to the wonderful region of Hades, with its beau- 
tiful waters, Lake Lethe, and Lake Lee, but we shall defer our 
visit to it until toward the close of our explorations. 

Hades. — There is perhaps no more attractive region of this 
underworld than that portion of it, which, from its beautiful 
lakes, brimming with limpid quiet waters suggestive of the calm 
of the world of spirits, has received the name of Hades. While 
it may be fairly considered the vestibule of a better world, the 
visitor will be reminded, however, by his guide that it is in close 
connection with Tartarus, to which at various points there are 
evident openings to be avoided by the wicked. 

Passing from the Throne Room into a narrow rift in the solid 
rock, after a number of bewildering turns and windings, we enter 
the labyrinthine mazes of Hades. The first object to attract our 
attention is Lake Lee.* It is the largest body of water in the 
cave, and one of the prettiest. Calm, clear, still, it reflects in a 
wonderful manner the many stalactitic beauties that surround it. 
A beautiful white column rises from its edge to the ceiling. 
Within a few feet is the bed of an old lake, now empty and dry, 
whose sides terraced at different levels display every stage and 
incident of lake-growth. The curious tower-like stalagmites 
along its border, suggestive of castles, have secured for the lake 
the name of the river Rhine. The visitor must not fail to see 
the Chinese devotee. Adjacent to it and still more interesting 
is Lake Lethe, a body of water contained within raised banks of 
its own construction, and containing within its waters many 
novel growths resembling mushrooms in stone, exceedingly cu- 
rious to the student of cave history. It has justified its name. 
A gentleman who, wandering here alone, took a drink of its 
limpid crystal, forgot his way out, and after many futile attempts 
to thread the mazes of Hades — each turn of which brought him 
back to Lake Lethe — was rescued by the guide after his candle 
had burned down to the last inch. 

There are numerous rooms opening out from Lake Lethe 

* Better known as Broaddus Lake. 



33 

which are particularly rich in helictites, and in stalactites of 
queer shape. A matter of interest in this locality is an abyss 
to which no bottom has yet been found. Mr. A. J. Campbell 
was once let down into it a distance of seventy-five feet, but 
without finding its lower limits. The visitor should observe 
caution in his movements, as he may be lost in the little-known 




THE ORl.AN. 



windings of this part of the cave. The peculiar merit of Hades 
is its series of wonderful lakes, and the facilities it affords for ob- 
serving the growth of formations submerged in water. 

Retracing our steps to the lower end of the room containing 
the Organ, we find ourselves face to face with a perpendicular 
barrier of massive stalactites. Taking the opening next the wall 
we reach presently upon our left the Tower of Babel, a fanciful 



34 

name for an exceedingly broad and massive stalagmite, whose 
surface, fluted with successive courses of minor stalactites, sug- 
gests the idea of its having some twenty odd stories. 

We now have reached the top of a flight of steps descending 
into Giants' Hall proper. With the help of two electric lights 
we enjoy a magnificent view of a chasm which, lofty and wide, 
and flanked with massive formations of every kind, is beset with 
gigantic blocks of limestone fallen from the ceiling, and crowded 
with] stalagmites which tower above our heads. Everything is 
of gigantic^ proportions. Folds of stone drapery, called the 
Chimes, forty feet long, vibrate for many seconds to the light 
touch of the guide. On our immediate right is Empress Col- 
umn, a stalagmite rich in flutings and dark about its lower part, 
but growing white as it rises until its summit is clothed with in- 
describable beauty. It is perfectly white. — luminous, one would 
say. Nothing could be better taken as the type of absolute 
purity. 

The Sultana Column, near by on the left, is of symmetrical 
shape but discolored by age. An adjacent column suggests an 
Indian Squaw, and another Chanticleer. A rugged mass of stone 
further on, exhibiting a " gaudy leonine beauty," is the Lion of 
Luray. Winding our way through a labyrinth of spires, mina- 
rets, formations infinite in number and kind, we come at length 
to the base of the Double Column* — two huge brown masses, 
the one a stalactite hanging about fifty feet from the ceiling to 
within a few feet of the floor ; the other a stalagmite rising by 
its side nearly as far ; both of immense size and symmetrical in 
shape. Within a few feet are a number of sonorous draperies 
of great length. These when gently struck by the guide with 
his finger give out notes of charming sweetness : — 

" Like an ^Eolian harp that wakes 
No certain air, but overtakes 
Far thought with music that it makes." 

Proceeding along the plank walk through the Narrow Passage, 
we have on our right the Frozen Cascade, succeeded further on 
by the Chalcedony Cascade. Opposite the latter upon the left 



* Recently dedicated, by the Reading Society of Natural Sciences, under the name " Henry- 
Baird Column," to the late Prof. Joseph Henry, the first Secretary, and Prof. Spencer F. Baird, 
the present Secretary, of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. 



35 

is Mahomet's Coffin, an immense boulder of limestone suspend- 
ed in mid-air. 

The Ball Room. — We emerge at length into a large open 
space, nearly circular and magnificently furnished with all that 
is striking and attractive in cave scenery. Its size and shape 
justify the name which has been given it. It is floored with 
plank and provided with benches. A bank of stone on one side 




BROADDUS LAKE, OR LAKE LEE. 

supplies a support for successive ranges of seats. Formerly on 
" Illumination Days," when some five thousand candles were 
lighted throughout the cave, the lads and lasses of the adja- 
cent counties celebrated the event by assembling here for a 
dance. The Luray Band with their instruments provided the 
necessary music. As may be imagined, the effect was both 



striking and queer. The brilliant lights set off the Ball Room 
to its best advantage, and the music echoed loudly back and 
forth through Giants' Hall. This apartment, the lowest in the 
cave, is two hundred and sixty feet beneath the surface. 

The objects of interest here are the Tombs of the Martyrs, 
the Vault, the Lady's Riding Whip, the Idol, the Conical Shot, 
and the fair maiden Cinderella. Two sets of rooms adjoin. The 
one contains the much admired Cascade Spring, a series of pools 
in tiers, the lower ones formed and fed by the outflow of those 
above, and all lined with calcite crystals. Prettily colored and 
sonorous draperies of great length hang near by. Another set 
of rooms, including Collins' Grotto,* is reached by mounting 
stairs opposite the entrance to the Ball Room. Collins' Grotto 
is rich in formations of rare and curious shapes, among which 
the Dragon is specially interesting. An attraction connected 
with it is the Snow-ball Spring. On our return from the Grotto 
we stop to examine the Bird's Nest, a cavity in the rock con- 
taining three beautiful white eggs — cave pearls — formed and 
forming from drops of lime-laden water falling from the ceiling. 
Opposite to Cascade Spring is an opening leading up to Pluto's 
Chasm. 

Campbell's Hall. — Returning to the entrance to the Ball 
Room, we plunge into a dark ravine upon the right, and mount- 
ing two long flights of steps find ourselves on the second story 
of the cave, and at the opening into Campbell's Hall. It is an 
apartment of irregular shape, about one hundred and fifty feet in 
diameter and thirty-five feet high, remarkable for the variety of 
color, and fine state of preservation of its formations. Some are 
of pearly whiteness, others are red, bright yellow, gray, bluish, 
and jetty black. It is worthy of remark that the Cascade Spring 
derives its waters from this place. 

Specially to be noted is the Fountain in Tiers or Coral Spring. 
Imagine upon the summit of a bank of stone a large shallow 
basin filled with pellucid water. Its outflow is received into six 
other smaller basins arranged in graceful curves along the slope 
below. The sides and bottoms of all are covered with calcite 
crystals of an amber color. In the larger basin stands a brown 



* Named after Jerome J. Collins, one of the officers of the "Jeannette," who spent ten 
days exploring the cave. 



37 

column, three feet high, whose base is beautifully broadened 
with a wreath of crystals as far up as the water reaches. The 
Scale Column, or Mermaid, is sheathed in crystals resembling 
scales. Campbell's Hall answers to our highest conception of 
the ornamental in cave scenery, since here, to a remarkable 
degree, the formations retain their original beauty. 

On making our exit we discover over our heads two folds of 
stonycloth, of light color, translucent and striped finely with 
opaque bands of snowy whiteness — the prettiest in the cave. 




THE BANKS 
OF THE RHINE. 



The Return. — We 
$?* make our way back 
, to the Double Column, 
and thence, turning to 
the left, up a flight of steps into the Hall of Eblis, a wide apart- 
ment having vistas opening out in many directions. Here are 
the Comet Column, the Camel's Head, the Handkerchief, and 
the Wet Blanket — the latter a marvelous piece of imitative 
stone. Here, too, is the former Bridal Chamber, which has 
been consecrated by an actual marriage. The Hollow Column, 
not far distant, is a huge stalactite through the axis of which a 
streamlet of fresh surface water has eaten its way from end to 



38 

end, opening up a shaft by which we may ascend forty feet into 
a gallery over the rooms we have been. exploring. 

Proserpine's Column is now our objective point. But before 
we go we find our way to the platform beneath the electric light 
to get another view of the Empress Column. It is truly superb, 
and its name is but in keeping with its air of imperial loveliness. 

We have seen enough for one day. We are exhausted men- 
tally by the multitude of our new impressions, and by the lively 
emotions to which they have given rise. Deferring the wonders 
yet remaining to another time we hurry back towards Entrance 
Hall y and mounting the stairway into the purplish light of day 
realize at length that we have enormous appetites and are per- 
haps a trifle tired by hours of cave travel. We bethink us of 
the gastronomic resources of the Luray Inn. 

From the door of the Cave House a fine view of the beautiful 
Luray Valley is obtained. Fronting us towards the east is the 
Blue Ridge, blue as the heavens, with its various outlying spurs, 
one of which partly conceals Thornton's Gap. On the right in 
charming profile the same mountain curves towards us, folding 
in its embrace the hills and dales, broad meadows, orchards and 
fertile fields of the upper Hawk's Bill. Mary's Rock is a famous 
land-mark in full view. On our left, towards Front Royal, the 
azure-tinted peaks of the Massanutton are seen to approach the 
line of the Blue Ridge. Famous for many bloody combats dur- 
ing the war, the scene is now, however, one of peace, and recalls 
the Laureate's vision — 

The island valley of Avilion ; 
Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow, 
Nor ever wind blows loudly ; but it lies 
6eep-meadowed, happy, fair with orchard lawns, 
And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea. 



39 
OTHER PARTS OF THE CAVE. 

" Silence is vocal if we listen well." 

Large areas, embracing some of the finest parts of the cave, 
are not yet open to the public. The route described in my 
last chapter takes in those localities which were first made easy 
of access to the general visitor. There remain for the un- 
daunted explorer certain regions for which special preparation 




A CORNER OF THE BALL ROOM. 



40 

is necessary : miles * of clambering up the sides of chasms, 
along slippery ledges, swinging from pillar to pillar at great 
risk of losing one's hold on treacherous stalagmites — to give a 
name to some as yet unchristened gulch ; ridges to straddle 
with yawning gulfs on either side, and embarrassing sharp- 
pointed stalactites overhead ; descents to be made, with labor 
and peril, by the help of decaying draperies, to reach floors 
deep with "boot-jack mud," or forming, perhaps, a thin crust 
over some bottomless pit ; crawling to be done through pas- 
sages too small for one's person, in mingled mud and water, — 



to'rt'iV.T'ii 




LURAY INN — INTERIOR. 



such are the toils of the explorer. He is beguiled to his task, 
however, by the novel beauties and terrors which present them- 
selves at every turn. A pleasant excitement takes possession of 
him, and labor and lapse of time are forgotten. 

Three routes requiring several hours each remain : Stebbins' 
avenue, Stonewall avenue, and to the Round Room, or 
Erebus. 

Stebbins' Avenue. — Turning to the left from the Entrance 

* To visit all the rooms now open in the cave requires a journey of over three miles. The 
entire extent is reckoned at something less than five miles. 



41 

Hall, we enter Stebbins' avenue, so called from the name of one 
of the gentlemen to whom the discovery of the cave is due. It 
is a series of spaces of low pitch and irregular shape opening 
one into another ; all with floors more or less dry because the 
water passes away by the lower level of the rooms which are 
found to exist beneath. The avenue presently divides into two, 
of which the right one leads to Crystal Lake, the left to Pisa 
and the rooms beyond. 

We recognize first the banded stalagmite called Pyramid of 
Cakes. It is surmounted by the Pine Apple. Near by is a bank 
of stone having a variety of colors, but most remarkable for a 
jetty black, supposed to be due to manganese dioxide. Near 
this is the Chinese Idol, on its pedestal of stone. This part of 
our way rings beneath our tread with a hollow sound, and the 
guide removes a slab which conceals the entrance to a region 
beneath known as Tartarus. 

The Blacksmith's Shop with its fire-place and two stalagmitic 
anvils comes next. In an adjoining room is the Cannon Ball, a 
24-pounder resting at the bottom of a limpid pool. Further on 
is the Grape Spring encompassed with grapes, or botryoids, of 
all shades from black to white, small and pretty. A mossy 
growth of calcite lines the bottom of the Spring. Upon the 
right we enter a recently-discovered room one hundred and fifty 
feet long, fifty feet broad, and twelve feet high. It is called Dr. 
Hawes' Room, in honor of Dr. George W. Hawes, of the Na- 
tional Museum at Washington, in whose honor a memorial tab- 
let was placed upon the column by the Smithsonian Institution. 

Crystal Lake is forty feet long by eight deep. We shall not 
venture on the narrow plank upon which the guide would tempt 
us to cross. We turn back, and near the Cannon Ball enter the 
narrow opening leading to Pisa. After crawling on our hands 
and knees for some distance we reach a large open space, the 
bottom of which is the bed of a lake. Its level is sunken about 
five feet — its bottom having fallen out, so to speak. Its sinking 
seems to have been expedited by the weight of an immense 
fluted stalactite some twenty-five feet high by twelve in diameter 
which has broken from the ceiling, crushed the floor, and 
brought down with it many of the adjacent columns. It is a 
veritable Leaning Tower. Beyond are Jacob's Well and the 




CAMPBELLS HALL. 



43 

curious Bayonet Well, which have for their bottom the new- 
level to which the Leaning Tower has fallen. The Bayonet is 'a 
perpendicular strip of drapery rising from the edge of the Well, 
having been left behind at the sinking of the stalagmite to which 
it was attached. 

There are many fine rooms in this quarter. The locality is 
specially rich in helictites, the curious lateral and upward 
growths alluded to before. They writhe upon the surface of 
their support like worms, in complicated clusters, perfectly re- 
gardless of the law of gravitation. 

Stonewall Avenue is a continuation of Entrance Avenue. 
Starting from the Skeleton we mount a stairway, and upon the 
higher level find upon our left a room called Paradise, contain- 
ing a pavilion ornamented with delicate lattice work of snow- 
white stone. It is called the Gnome's Pavilion. Further on 
upon the right we enter a passage conducting us into an apart- 
ment which from its connecting with the Imperial Spring is 
known as the Empress' Chamber. The splendid view under the 
electric light from this room across the Imperial Spring with its 
myriad of encompassing columns, and beyond to the rugged 
features of Stonewall Avenue, must not be missed. Returning 
to the main route we rest for a moment to inspect the trailing 
tufts of a white, furry fungus of great beauty, hanging here, as 
elsewhere in the cave, from the plank of which the stairways 
and platforms are constructed. It doubtless belongs to the 
upper world, being brought in with the plank, but as it seems to 
find here the environment most favorable to its growth it should 
be christened Cave Ermine. At a distance its pendent masses 
are scarcely to be distinguished from stalactites. 

Continuing our explorations we come next to the Twins, three 
lakes of considerable depth encompassed by a wild forest of col- 
umnar stone. The clustering together of many stalactitic pillars 
forcibly recalls the multiplex columns of which the mediaeval 
artist was so fond, making it easy to believe that the Gothic 
architect derived his idea from the growths of caves rather 
than those of the forest. 

Beyond the lakes turning off to the right we pass beneath the 
Canopy, a circular rock jutting from the wall ; bare as to its flat 
under surface, but ornamented about its circumference with a 



,4 



fringe of draper}-. Going further we enter the engine room, 
containing the locomotive and curious helictites of unusual size 
resembling potatoes. The formations here are of a strikingly 
eccentric character. Turning back to the main route we con- 
tinue for some distance until we reach the point at which the 
guide tells us it is proposed to open a new exit from the cave 

to the outer 
world. Near 
D r. M i 1 1 e r's 
Room* we 
fi n d large 
masses of cal- 
cite broken 
away with dy- 
namite cart- 
ridges in an ef- 
fort to create 
a wider open- 
ing. Some 
of the huge 
blocks thus 
dislodged are 
remarkable 
for fineness ot 
texture. "On 
being cut into 
slabs and pol- 
ished they are 
quite equal to 
the eel eb ra- 
ted Mexican 
onyx, from 
which they 
differ mainly 

in vividness of color." Sections of stalagmites show great va- 
riety and richness of coloring. Some of these have been pol- 
ished and are sold to visitors as mementoes of the caverns. To 




THE WET BLANKET. 



* Named after the late Dr. Miller of Luray, a great admirer of the cave, and an exemplary 
citizen of Page county. 



45 



the inexperienced eye they resemble sections of petrified trees, 
and would-be purchasers have been known to ask for those 
" specimens which have the bark on." 

Last of all we reach the entrance of a large dome-shaped 
apartment to which the appropriate name of Chaos has been 
given. 

E r e b u s. — Clambering 
over a huge pile of ruins 
in Giants' Hall, and 
mounting to a consider- 
able height by means of a 
ladder, we enter upon the 
route to Erebus. On our 
way Ave find many curious 
formations to admire. 
Among these maybe 
mentioned The Toys, a 
cluster of upward and 
lateral helictitic grow* § 
gathered about the c 
ital of a stalactitic colu 
Turning about we find^ie 
way from this point to 
Erebus arduous and diffi- 
cult. It grows smaller and 
smaller until we must 
needs creep, at full length, 
some twenty feet through 
a narrow, wet, and muddy 
passage, which is but a 
crack in the blue lime- 
stone. It is impossible to 
avoid the stalactites be- 
setting the way, and the dripping water fills the eyes with the 
tears appropriate to so uncomfortable a situation. Our clothing 
is reduced to a miserable plight. 

We are rewarded upon our emergence into Crystal Room by 
the discovery of numerous hexagonal crystals, transparent, of 
large size, and T beautiful. They project from the ceiling, in clus- 




ARRANGEMENT ' IN STONE. 



4 6 

ters commonly, and arc found only where the ceiling is the 
original blue limestone, within which, in cavities, they seem to 
have been formed at some remote period. They are two, 'three 
and four inches in length, and from one to twelve-sixteenths of 
an inch in thickness. 

We rest at last in Erebus, a room large, dark and dismal, 
having the shape of the figure 8. At the point corresponding 
with the middle of the figure, a large and symmetrical column 
of brownish-white stone rises from floor to ceiling, a distance 
of about seventy feet. It is the only column of any size in the 
room. Along the side runs a sort of gallery containing fine 
specimens illustrating the processes of "vegetal growth." E% 
tering this gallery we find it filled with decaying forms, and 
peering thence into the central abyss — 

The dank tarn of Auber 
The ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir 

of Poe's fancy — we see lying there many objects whose shape is 
undistinguishable in the darkness. 



CONCLUSION. 

It is a task of recognized difficulty to describe the indescrib- 
able. This difficulty is enhanced, if possible, in the. case of 
cave scenery by the fact that the impressions it leaves upon 
the mind of the beholder differ not so much in degree as in 
kind from those of his past experience. A new order of sen- 
sations, ideas and emotions demand, of course, a new vocab- 
ulary. No straining or expansion of a terminology derived 
from the upper world will enable it to describe adequately the 
wonderful phenomena presented in the realm of Stalacta. The 
visitor who attempts description must content himself therefore 
with seeking to impart his enthusiasm, without hoping to trace 
fully its causes. This only will he profess to understand clearly 
— that he has enjoyed the rare felicity of experiencing an alto- 
gether novel sensation. 

The Persian monarch's desire — a new pleasure — is secured at 
length to the world in the Luray Cave. 



47 

The Luray Cave and Hotel Company. 



NOTICE TO VISITORS. 



To prevent confusion or misunderstanding, and to guard against impo- 
sition, visitors are requested to pay particular attention to the following 
regulations : — 

Admission to the Caverns. 

Visitors are admitted to the Caverns from 7 A. M. till 6 P. M., during 
which time no charge is made for the electric light. After 6 P. M. a special 
charge is made for admission, and the electric light will not run unless by 
special arrangement. 

Admission to the Caverns, i From ' A " M - tU1 6 P - M " S 1 ' 00 ' deluding electric light. 
•■After 6 P. M., $1.50 without electric light. 

A special charge will be made as follows for electric light, if desired by 
visitors after 6 P. M. : — 

For ONE visitor, . . . $2.00 
" TWO visitors (each), 1.00 
" THREE " " 75 Cents, j- In addition to the Night Rate of Admission. 

" FOUR " " 50 " 

" FIVE " " 25 " J 

" SIX or MORE visitors, NO EXTRA CHARGE will be made. 

N. B. — A small charge is made at the Cave-house for taking care of 
articles of baggage. 

Cave Photographs, Specimens, Guide Books, &c, may be purchased at 
fixed prices. No other charges than those specified are permitted. 

Ordinary clothing should be worn in the Caverns. Ladies should wear 
overshoes. No special changes of dress are needed, and extra wraps are 
superfluous — the Cave temperature being 56 F. at all seasons. Canes, 
sticks, &c, are not allowed in the Caverns. Smoking is prohibited. 

g®" Visitors are urgently requested to aid in protecting the formations 
in the Caverns from defacement and mutilation. 

JSJgp'Under the laws of Virginia, persons detected in breaking or de- 
facing the formations may be arrested and fined. 

Cave Hacks. 

Authorized Hacks make regular trips to the Caverns. Special trips 
will be made from the Railroad Station and from the Inn when required. 
Railroad coupons for hack transportation will be honored on any trip of 
authorized hacks. 

f 35 CENTS per passenger on REGULAR trips from the 
RATES PER ROUND ) Railroad Station. 

TRIP, \ 50 CENTS per passenger on SPECIAL trips from the 

(_ Inn or Railroad Station. 

N. B. — Visitors are particularly requested to retain the " RETURN " 
hack coupon until they return from the Caverns, and not to surrender it 
on the "GOING" trip to the Caverns. 
CAVERNS OF LURAY, E. J. ARMSTRONG, 

Luray Station, Shenandoah Valley R. R. Superintendent. 






.:$**& 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 







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